Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Deputies of the Technical Group on introducing this comprehensive motion. The motion sets out not just the considerable value of Coillte to our economy, but the importance of Coillte and our woodlands to society and our communities.

Coillte is an important rural employer. At a time when we have almost 15% of our population on the live register, Coillte's role as an employer should not be lost. Any sale of the company's harvesting rights or the failure to develop the massive potential of the forestry sector for timber and biomass production will be detrimental to the public interest, to the economic interests of the State and to the social interests of citizens. The company's role in ecotourism must also be developed. With ten forest parks and over 150 recreation sites, Coillte is the leading provider of outdoor recreation in Ireland, with an estimated 18 million visits to forests under its management each year.

This motion sets out the success of the forestry industry in Switzerland in creating substantial employment and a strong export economy. Of course Switzerland invests in that sector. Sadly, Fianna Fáil with the support of both the Labour Party and Fine Gael surrendered much of its discretion and these rights to the European Union. Putting it plainly, the European Union discriminates against state companies which exist to serve the public good. In 2003, the then Fianna Fáil Government bowed to the European Union's decision not only to cancel European grants worth €47 million to Coillte, but also forced the company to repay an additional €8.3 million received in grants. If Coillte had been a privately owned company, the European Union would have paid the grants with no questions asked. It seems, therefore, we have a bizarre position where private individuals can benefit from EU grants paid for by European citizens, but the citizens themselves cannot benefit via state-sponsored enterprises.

I find it astonishing how easily the Government has forfeited and is prepared to forfeit further indigenous industries. This goes way beyond selling off the family silver. Ideologically, the Labour Party, along with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, are simply opposed to the notion of State-owned enterprises, despite the immense benefits these companies have generated for the State and the people. OECD figures show that outside of energy, transport and telecommunications, the extent of State-owned enterprise activity in Ireland ranks towards the bottom in terms of the scope of public enterprise in the economy and public ownership.

A very exciting innovation programme has been in full swing in Coillte for the past two years or so and has massive potential for jobs and added-value use of the raw materials. For example, at the nano-technology level, the crystals that make up wood are harder than steel, offering huge potential. One of the areas of innovation involves exploiting more fully the tops of mountains, the peaks Coillte owns, for telecommunications businesses.

This motion sets out in clear terms the real added value Coillte brings to the economy and society and I see no good reason for the Government to amend or oppose it. If it does, it simply reconfirms its commitment to privatisation and reconfirms its lack of imagination and ambition to developing our natural resources and their indigenous potential.

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